Viggo's Change of Heart
by Canon Archives
Summary: When the Monstrous Nightmare saves his life, Viggo discovers the worth of dragons and the depth of their souls. He finally begins to understand that the bond between Hiccup and that Night Fury is much more than he ever realized.


**Hi Everyone! I re-watched Triple Cross and decided to write a Viggo fanfic! I was most inspired by the line "You are too good, too pure, too innocent, which will get you _or someone you love_ killed." **

**Viggo is possibly one of my favorite villains in anything ever because he is such an interesting and brilliant character. I hope I did him justice.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD or RttE.**

**Please enjoy!**

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The cave was crumbling.

"We've gotta get out of here!"

Viggo turned around and he immediately realized what was happening. There _was_ no dragon eye lens in this cave. He had been tricked! Johann had chosen Krogan over him.

He growled as he sprinted after his men towards the cave entrance. How did he _fall_ for that? He should have seen it coming. Ever since aligning with Krogan, Viggo had been steadily becoming less and less important in Johann's eyes. Johann clearly found Krogan and his forceful, reckless battle tactics to be more effective than Viggo's well thought-out game strategies. Viggo knew that working with Krogan was dangerous and disadvantageous to himself. But he had agreed to obey Johann, and like always, following others had not worked out for him. It was always best to be the one in charge, to never fall victim to someone else's plan. And now, Viggo was going to pay for his mistake.

He turned a corner and spotted the exit straight ahead of him. Suddenly he heard a loud growl. A vicious Monstrous Nightmare appeared behind him and began chasing after him. Viggo ran faster. He had to make it out of the cave.

But Krogan's Titanwing Singetail stood at the cave entrance now, and the beast shot a deadly fireball towards him. The blast hit the cave ceiling, and giant boulders collapsed in front of him, blocking his way out. He was trapped.

Another growl came from behind him, and he remembered the Monstrous Nightmare that had been chasing him. He turned around, weaponless, with no way to escape the death he suddenly realized was upon him.

The dragon burst into flame, and pounced.

Viggo felt the dragon's jaws clench around his body, but before he could register being inside its mouth, he was tossed away, landing hard on the cave floor. When he turned around, there was a giant boulder in the very place he had been standing. The dragon's wing had been smashed underneath the rock, and the creature roared in pain.

What just happened?

Viggo stood up slowly and stared at the mighty beast. From the looks of it, the dragon had just saved him from being crushed underneath the collapsing cave.

Why would it do that?

The Nightmare was still roaring in pain, and struggled to pull his wing out from under the boulder. The cries echoed loudly around the now silent, dark cave. It shot a few wild blasts of fire into the air, illuminating the scene briefly. They were completely blockaded on all sides, with only a narrow space between the human and the dragon. Viggo tentatively approached the injured creature.

It growled a warning, and Viggo stopped.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," he said, "but I believe you just saved my life."

The dragon stopped growling and watched him warily. Its glowing eyes bore into him, waiting to see what he would do.

Viggo moved towards the dragon again. He held out both hands, palms forward, showing that he had no weapons to harm the beast. It lowered its head so that they were right next to each other, face to face. Viggo hesitated. The Nightmare did not look like it intended to attack him. He reached out a hand, but pulled it back slightly, uncertain if the dragon would let him touch its snout. It did not seem to object though, so Viggo carefully placed his hand against the creature's scaly skin. The dragon let out a strange hum that sounded oddly pleasant.

"I believe thanks are in order," Viggo murmured. "It has been a long time since anyone has done something so kind for me."

The dragon looked towards his trapped wing and let out a whimper. "Perhaps if you gave me a little light, dragon," Viggo said, "I could find something to assist me in getting that rock off your wing."

The Nightmare glanced around, and then aimed a flame towards a pile of wood behind Viggo.

Viggo smiled in surprise. "I must say, your loyalty is quite undeserving," he told the dragon. "I have been far from… _compassionate _towards your kind."

He walked around the now enclosed area of the cave, and found an axe on the ground that one of the hunters had left behind. He picked it up and went over to the boulder that crushed the dragon's wing. With great effort, he managed to pry the rock off the wing using the hilt of the axe. The wing was still injured, but at least now the dragon was able to move around freely.

The Monstrous Nightmare let out another roar, and then shot its head back towards Viggo. Viggo flinched. It took him a moment to realize that the creature was not hurting him. It seemed to be… _nuzzling _him. Like it was saying thank you.

Viggo, shocked at the unfamiliar behavior from a dragon, carefully placed a gentle hand back on its snout, and gave it a soft rub.

He looked at the dragon's glowing eyes. Its pupils seemed to be dilated into large circles, rather than the angry narrow slits that Viggo was used to. The creature looked… _happy_. Well, he must be happy. Viggo had helped him. But to be able to see the emotion so easily on the dragon's face was strange to him. He had never really paid attention to dragons' eyes before. He was always focused on the value of their skins and the usefulness of their unique abilities.

Viggo inadvertently thought of his most formidable adversary, Hiccup Haddock. The boy who continuously went above and beyond to protect these creatures, becoming the most irritating and challenging hindrance to Viggo's dragon trapping business. Hiccup's undying motivation and determination to the cause was always what Viggo found most respectable, but also most mysterious about the young dragon rider. That Night Fury was undoubtedly loyal to him; for such a small, weak boy, it made sense that he never went anywhere without his own personal body guard and protector. But Hiccup's idealistic belief that dragons deserved to be treated as equals always seemed naïve to Viggo. Why did the boy _care_ so much?

Now, looking at the intelligent, emotional eyes of this Monstrous Nightmare, Viggo finally began to see more clearly what Hiccup saw when he looked at dragons. This creature had a genuine and deeply complex soul. He was capable of empathy and kindness. This dragon was capable of _love._

Something seemed to click for Viggo. He had always thought that the girl was Hiccup's greatest weakness, and that using her as a bargaining chip was the best way to beat him. But he was wrong. In order to get whatever he wanted out of Hiccup Haddock, Viggo would have to directly threaten what was truly closest to the boy's heart: His dragon.

"What do you say we smash our way out of this cave, dragon?" Viggo said to the Nightmare.

The dragon looked towards the rock wall the blocked their exit. He dragged his broken wing towards the wall. With a nod from Viggo, he slammed his body into the rocks three times, until it collapsed, creating an opening wide enough for them to crawl out.

It was time for Viggo to pay his young Maces and Talons student a visit, and plot a sweet, sweet revenge on the two men who tried to kill him.

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**Please please please review! I love when people talk to me!**


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